Fastening peg



Nov. 27, 1951 c. w. RAYBURN I FASTENING PEG Filed Oct. 10. 1949 INVENTOR 3/3; Jiff -l 8 Jib ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 27, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FASTENING PEG Clarence William Rayburn, West Palm Beach, Fla.

Application October 10, 1949, Serial No. 120,452

The present invention relates in general to protective devices for linemen working on electrical power lines and more particularly to an improvedv construction for a protective rubber blanket and fastening means for the same.

When linemen are working on poles carrying energized power lines it is customary practice for the worker to safeguard himself in every way from accidental contact with the lines and one of the most commonly used protective devices employed is a flexible blanket made of insulating material such as rubber. The blanket when folded over the conductors is adjusted so as to protect the lineman from bodily contact with either side of-the conductor. terest of further safety, the two sides of the blanket depending from the power line must be capable of being secured together to prevent acci-- dental dislodgement by the wind or by the lineman himself.

The presently known devices are not entirely satisfactory from the linemans point of view since they either consume too much time to install in protective position or are difficult to operate. provide electrical insulation between their hands and the charged power lines and also wear an other set of leather gloves or covers as they are commonly called over the rubber gloves to protect the latter against any damage that would lessen their electrical insulating effect. The two sets of gloves materially lessen the linemans dexterity of hand and consequently make it difficult to hold and manipulate the type of blanket fastening devices heretofore available.

The primary object of the present invention is therefore to provide a novel form of blanket and related fastening device which can be installed and removed in a minimum of time.

Another object is to provide a pin type fastening device that can be securely held and freely manipulated by a lineman working in rubber gloves and protective leather covers.

A more specific object is to provide a blanket fastener comprising an elongated pin having a long tapered portion at one end to pierce and gradually enlarge the eyes in the blanket, a similarly long handle member formed at the other end and an intermediate annular groove for receiving and securing the blanket eyes against accidental displacement.

The foregoing as well as other objects and advantages inherent in the invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred construction thereof, when considered with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the blanket fastened in protective position over a power line;

Fig.2 is a vertical section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

However in the in- Linemen always work in rubber gloves to a;

1 Claim. (Cl. 24-1) Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fastener element for the blanket shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawings the blanket designated by numeral I in the drawin and made of rubber sheeting is seen to include rows of spaced holes or eyes 2 along opposite sides thereof a few inches in from the edge. In the illustrated embodiment, these spaced eyes 2 extend along all four sides of the blanket but may be limited to any two opposite sides thereof if desired. The eyes 2 are also preferably reinforced peripherally at 3 by an extra thickness of rubber to prevent tearing of the same.

The fastener element as shown particularly well in Fig. 3 is constituted by an elongated and rigid pin 4 made of any good non-conductive material. One end of the latter is provided with a long and gradually tapered end 4a. The pin end 4b is also made much smaller than the normal i. e.

' J undistorted diameter of the blanket eye 2. These two features enable the lineman to freely insert and guide the pin through both eyes before the periphery of the pin comes into contact with the marginal surface of the eyes, and moreover make it relatively easy to thereafter gradually enlarge the eye until the end of the taper is reached at M: and merges into a short cylindrical section 4d. immediately behind section 4d the diameter of the pin is reduced to establish an annular groove 4;: and the pin diameter at the base of the groove is preferably made just a trifle smaller than the normal diameter of the eye 2.

Extending rearwardly from groove ie is another short cylindrical section lf corresponding in size to section 411 and following the latter is another tapered portion 4 also of substantial length and which terminates in a ball shaped knob 471, the portions 4g and 4h constituting a handle which can be easily and firmly grasped by the gloved hand of the lineman. While the dimensions of the pin are not too critical and will depend somewhat upon the size of the eyes 2 in the blanket and thickness of the latter, the following has been found satisfactory for a blanket approximately thick at the eyes with an eye diameter of 1 Inches Pin diameter at end 4b /4 Combined length of sections 4a and id 1%;- Diameter at base of groove 4e is Diameter at top of groove 4e is Width of groove 4e 2;;- Combined length of sections 4g and 4f 1%: Diameter of knob The manner of use of the protective device is clearly depicted in the drawings." Blanket l is first placed in protective positionover the conductors 5 as shown in Fig. 1, and-adjusted until correspondingly positioned eyes 2 on the front and rear panels la, lb have been brought into approximate registry. Steadying the blanket with one hand, one of the pins 4 held by the knob end with the other hand is then pushed through the eyes bringing them into exact registry and as insertion of the pin proceeds the eyes are gradually expanded until the drop center or groove portion 4e is reached and the eyes are then free to contract to their normal size as shown in Fig. 2 thus securing the two blanket panels I a, lb, together at oneside. The same procedure is then repeated at the opposite side of the blanket. Removal of the pins is equally easy through a generally reverse sequence, the lineman first distorting the eyes by applying a combined pulling and twisting motion to the pin until free of the groove 4e and then withdrawing the same.

In conclusion it will be understood that while the illustrated embodiment of my improved protective device is preferred, various minor changes may be resorted to without however departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

As an article of manufacture for use in fastening a linemans protective rubber blanket when folded over a power line, the blanket having spaced eyes along the edge portion of at least one side thereof adapted to be brought into mutual registration when the blanket is folded, a rigid pin member of electrically insulating material having an intermediate annular groove the width of which is substantially equal to twice the blanket thickness, said groove being adapted to form a seat for the marginal porextend substantially beyond a pair of the coregistering blanket eyes before the periphery of the pin engages the marginal portions of the blanket eyes, and an elongated knobbed handle portion extending rearwardly of said groove of substantially the same length as said forwardly extending tapered portion, the diameter of said handle portion at the forward end thereof adjacent said groove being greater than the diameter of the blanket eyes.

CLARENCE WILLIAM RAYBURN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 829,412 Marggraff Aug. 28,1906 1,114,013 Millar Oct. 20, 1914 1,404,552 Simmons Jan. 24, 1922 1,728,545 Haushalter Sept. 1'7, 1929 1,743,493 Sipe Jan. 14, 1930 1,974,160 Pierson Sept. 18, 1934 2,045,157 Mathias June 23, 1936 2,206,471 Taylor July 2, 1940 

